Good morning, Bellingham. This is your Friday update from The Hamster Wheel.

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

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Follow the white rabbit to Bay Street for one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made. Arrive at 7 PM for food vendors, drinks, trivia, and community fun before The Matrix lights up the big screen at dusk.

Bring a chair, bring your friends, and experience this iconic action classic under the summer sky. Bay Street Outdoor Cinema is always free, making it the perfect excuse for an unforgettable movie night.

Starting today, and running through the weekend, Noisy Waters Mural Festival is turning Bellingham’s waterfront into a giant outdoor studio, with muralists painting live, music nearby, and new artwork taking shape over three days. Eight featured artists will each create a mural on an 8-by-8-foot wall, giving you a chance to watch the process unfold from the first sketch to the finished piece.

There’s also a competitive side to it. You vote for your favorite murals, and the top three artists will earn commissions to return and paint permanent large-scale murals around Bellingham.

Most of the action happens around the Portal Village on the waterfront, with live music, workshops, kids’ activities, vendors, food, drinks, and mural tours mixed in throughout the weekend. You can stop by for a quick visit or settle in and watch a blank wall transform into a work of community art.

There’s an opportunity to learn about a fascinating chapter of Skagit County history tonight at Village Books. Author and longtime Associated Press journalist Robert Burns will discuss his book, Rebels in the Wild: The Equality Colony and the Taming of American Capitalism, which tells the story of a socialist colony founded near Edison in 1897. At its peak, roughly 340 people lived on the colony’s 600 acres, attempting to build a cooperative community they hoped might become a model for a broader political movement.

Burns draws on letters, diaries, memoirs, newspaper accounts, and court records to trace both the ideals behind Equality Colony and the personalities and conflicts that ultimately helped bring it to an end in 1907. The talk runs from 6 to 7 pm at Village Books in Fairhaven. Reserve a seat.

This weekend, the Whatcom Million Trees Project is hosting a two-day workshop that mixes art, local history, and a closer look at the forests surrounding Lake Whatcom. You’ll start with a museum visit and a naturalist-led hike through the watershed, then turn what you’ve seen into your own multilayered color woodblock prints with Seattle artist Charles Spitzack. The workshop also draws inspiration from Bellingham artist Elizabeth Colborne, whose early 20th-century woodblock prints captured many of the same forests and landscapes.

There’s a conservation story behind the workshop, too. 128 acres of mature forest in the Lake Whatcom watershed are scheduled for a DNR timber sale this fall, and the event is being held as a fundraiser for the Whatcom Million Trees Project and its efforts to protect those forests. The workshop runs Saturday and Sunday, from 10 am to 5 pm, and is open to adults of all experience levels. Register here.

Hoop performer Natale Luna brings Hoop Hoop Hurray to the Maritime Heritage Park Amphitheatre for a free interactive family show built around hula hoops, juggling, dancing, twirling, and opportunities for the audience to get in on the fun.

The free performance runs from noon to 1 pm today, August 14, at Maritime Heritage Park. Bring a picnic lunch and a blanket and settle in on the lawn for an hour of circus fun. 😁

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Friday
Olsen Creek: Help Washington Trails Association implement a multi-use recreation opportunity just outside of Bellingham. Register

Saturday
Summer Stewards - Litter Pickup: Hop on the NSEA shuttle bus for a morning of stewardship. This day will be focused on litter pickup. Register
Olsen Creek: Help Washington Trails Association implement a multi-use recreation opportunity just outside of Bellingham. Register

1806 Cornwall Ave (Sat 9 am)
If you’ve not had a chance to stop by the flea market hosted by Irongate Estates, this is the weekend. I’ve been several times this year and it’s always a blast. You’ll find the kitschy, the collectible, maybe even the valuable. It’s only open from 9 am to 3 pm so plan accordingly.

The Bellingham Dockside Market is open tomorrow (Saturday), from 10 am to 2 pm at GATE 5 in Squalicum Harbor.

Salmon season is in full swing, and Dockside’s seafood vendors are bringing an incredible selection to market. They are welcoming back DJ Fish Co, who have been hard at work catching fresh king salmon in the Hood Canal. Fresh local sockeye, king, and coho salmon will be available from Lummi Seafood Market, while Sea to Shore Seafood Co. is offering freshly-caught Alaskan salmon.

2217 Lynn Street (Open Sat 1:30-3 pm)
I always get the biggest kick out of Lynn Street. It’s eclectic from end to end. If you start at Yeager’s and drive southwest, you’ll watch the transition from midcentury modern ramblers through 1920s boom-period cottages into early-century craftsman (of which this is one) and then, as a bookend, you find a rad 1970s fourplex apartment building. 😆 It’s the coolest street in town. Listing

3270 Pond Lane, Bow (Open Sat 12-2 pm)
Oh man, this property feels like a sanctuary where someone could wash away the hustle and bustle and truly decompress. So sweet. It has two separate living structures and sits on five acres. 🥰 Listing

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Steven Farmer (comedy) | Thurs-Fri

BAAY
Head Over Heels (theatre) | Fri-Sun

Bellingham Circus Guild
Vaudevillingham | Sat

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Bellingham TheatreWorks Gala Benefit | Sat

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 7:30 pm
Beginner Ballet - Karate Church - Sat 10 am
Beginner Contemporary - Karate Church - Sat 11:30 am
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Open Floor Conscious Dance - Bellingham Fitness - Sun 10:30 am

Aslan Depot hosts Ska Island tonight, August 14, at 8 pm. The band plays a high-energy mix of ska, Jamaican roots music, and jazz, combining original compositions with classic material from early ska figures such as The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo, and Don Drummond.

An Evening with Sean Hayes brings the San Francisco Bay Area singer-songwriter to The Blue Room tomorrow, August 15, at 7 pm. Hayes blends folk, soul, and R&B-inflected roots music, pairing a gravelly voice with rhythmic arrangements.

Her Mountain Majesty performs at Trackside this Sunday, August 16, from 4 to 6 pm. Led by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andi Lee Scher, the Seattle band describes its sound as “mountain rock,” drawing from Southern rock, blues, folk, country, and soul.

Upbeat Vibe Collective, Lake Padden Golf Course – Upbeat Vibe Collective performs a free, all-ages patio show at 6 pm, with food and drink specials available from Coyote Grill.

7 Second Window, Station 49 – A free, all-ages show from 6 to 9 pm features rock ’n’ roll, classic rock, ’90s favorites, and some country.

Friday Music & Trivia →

Rock the Dock, Boundary Bay Brewery – A 6 pm benefit concert with The Legendary Chucklenuts raises money for a new launch dock to be used by Whatcom Rowing Association. Suggested donations of $5 to $20 at the door.

DAWdust & Friends, The Admiralty Lounge – DAWdust spins a free 21+ set from 9 to 11 pm, blending genre-fluid selections and turntablism-inspired lounge music for an evening that can stay laid-back or turn toward the dance floor.

Stonestock, Stones Throw Brewery – A free, all-ages festival from 3 to 9 pm features live music from Countless Trees and Purrrple Haze, food from That’s What I Like! Island Grill and GIRLNDOG Cookies, plus local vendors, vintage goods, handmade items, and tarot readings.

Opening to Nature Walk: Lake Padden, West Lake Padden Park – A guided mindful twilight walk from 8 to 10 pm covers about 2.5 miles at a contemplative pace, with stops to notice the transition from day to night along the wooded lakeshore.

Saturday Music & Trivia →

Race for the Underdogs 5K, Lake Padden – A 5K for runners, walkers, and leashed dogs begins at 8:30 am, with proceeds from the $35 registration supporting dogs in the care of Happy Tails Happy Homes.

Sunday Music & Trivia →

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